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Part 4 – Canada Bill – C71 Will Increase Citizenship By Descent Options For US Citizens Seeking Canada/US Dual Citizenship

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Introduction And Summary

This is Part 4 in my “Little Red Dual Citizenship Book” Series. For parts 1 to 5, see the Appendix.

A recent article in the Boston Globe is evidence that more and more Americans are interested in acquiring a second citizenship. Second citizenship can be obtained through naturalization, investment or citizenship by descent. “Citizenship by descent” is citizenship conferred based on one’s relationship – ancestry – to a parent or grandparent. The nature of the ancestral relationship depends on the country. Countries offering citizenship by descent include: Italy, Ireland, Poland, Canada and many other European countries. Citizenship by ancestry is often referred to as “citizenship by descent”. The basic principle is that one acquires citizenship because of a familial relationship to a citizen of that country. Increasing numbers of people are learning that through ancestry, they may be able acquire or document a second citizenship.

An option for “citizenship by descent” that is much closer to home – Canada – will soon be an option for more U.S. citizens than it is under exiting law.

Citizenship By Descent – Equal Treatment And Opportunity For All Canadian Citizens

The precise rules governing citizenship by descent vary from country to country. The rules governing citizenship by descent have many difficulties. Should ANY citizen be able to pass his/her citizenship on to the next generation? Does the physical connection to the country of citizenship matter? Should citizenship by descent rules operate so that acquisition of descent can be available for many generations? These questions were explored in the context of Canada’s Charter of Rights And Freedoms.

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The "Exit Tax": Dual US/Canada citizen from birth, no Canada citizenship today = no exemption to US "Exit Tax"

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The above tweet references a “guest post” written by Dominic Ferszt of Cape Town South Africa. The post demonstrates how the “dual citizen from birth” exemption to the S. 877A “Exit Tax” relies on the citizenship laws of other nations. In some cases those laws of other nations are arbitrary and unjust. If these laws were U.S. laws, they might violate the equal protection and/or due process guarantees found in the United States constitution. For example, Mr. Ferszt describes how the “dual citizenship exemption” to the “Ext Tax” is dependent on South African “Apartheid Laws”. He describes a situation where a “black” U.S. citizen from birth is denied the benefits of the dual citizen exemption to the Exit Tax, which are available to a “white” dual citizen from birth. (During the “Apartheid Era” Blacks were not entitled to South African citizenship.)

So, what’s the S. 877A “Exit Tax”  dual citizen exemption and how does it work?

The dual citizen exemption, which I have discussed in previous posts,  is found in Internal Revenue Code S. 877A(g)(1)(B) and reads:

(B) Exceptions An individual shall not be treated as meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 877(a)(2) if—

(i) the individual—

(I) became at birth a citizen of the United States and a citizen of another country and, as of the expatriation date, continues to be a citizen of, and is taxed as a resident of, such other country, and
(II) has been a resident of the United States (as defined in section 7701(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for not more than 10 taxable years during the 15-taxable year period ending with the taxable year during which the expatriation date occurs, or

Entitlement to the “dual citizen exemption” depends entirely on the citizenship laws of other countries …

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